A rare orca sighting thrilled whale watching charters on Monday, July 29, off San Clemente. It was the first orca sighting off local waters this year of the tropical ETP killer whales, which were chasing and hunting dolphins, similar behavior to last September. (Photo courtesy of Ryan Lawler/Newport Coastal Adventure)

A pod of orcas, thought to be Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales only seen along the Southern California coast a few times, made a surprise appearance off San Clemente late Monday, July 29.

It was a thrill for whale-watching charters that rushed to get an up-close look at the massive mammals that usually live off Mexico and Costa Rica. Passengers got to witness raw, National Geographic-style hunting as the orcas chased dolphins across the sea, similar to what a pod did off the Orange County and San Diego coastline in September.

A rare orca sighting thrilled whale watching charters on Monday, July 29, off San Clemente. It was the first orca sighting off local waters this year of the tropical ETP killer whales, which were chasing and hunting dolphins, similar behavior to last September. (Photo courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching)

A rare orca sighting thrilled whale watching charters on Monday, July 29, off San Clemente. It was the first orca sighting off local waters this year of the tropical ETP killer whales, which were chasing and hunting dolphins, similar behavior to last September. (Photo courtesy of Matt Larmand/Dana Wharf)

A rare orca sighting thrilled whale watching charters on Monday, July 29, off San Clemente. It was the first orca sighting off local waters this year of the tropical ETP killer whales, which were chasing and hunting dolphins, similar behavior to last September. (Photo courtesy of Mark Girardeau/Newport Coastal Adventure)

Sound

The gallery will resume inseconds

A rare orca sighting thrilled whale watching charters on Monday, July 29, off San Clemente. It was the first orca sighting off local waters this year of the tropical ETP killer whales, which were chasing and hunting dolphins, similar behavior to last September. (Photo courtesy of Ryan Lawler/Newport Coastal Adventure)

A rare orca sighting thrilled whale watching charters on Monday, July 29, off San Clemente. It was the first orca sighting off local waters this year of the tropical ETP killer whales, which were chasing and hunting dolphins, similar behavior to last September. (Photo courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching)

A rare orca sighting thrilled whale watching charters on Monday, July 29, off San Clemente. It was the first orca sighting off local waters this year of the tropical ETP killer whales, which were chasing and hunting dolphins, similar behavior to last September. (Photo courtesy of Dana Wharf Whale Watching)

A rare orca sighting thrilled whale watching charters on Monday, July 29, off San Clemente. It was the first orca sighting off local waters this year of the tropical ETP killer whales, which were chasing and hunting dolphins, similar behavior to last September. (Photo courtesy of Mark Girardeau/Newport Coastal Adventure)

A rare orca sighting thrilled whale watching charters on Monday, July 29, off San Clemente. It was the first orca sighting off local waters this year of the tropical ETP killer whales, which were chasing and hunting dolphins, similar behavior to last September. (Photo courtesy of Mark Girardeau/Newport Coastal Adventure)

A rare orca sighting thrilled whale watching charters on Monday, July 29, off San Clemente. It was the first orca sighting off local waters this year of the tropical ETP killer whales, which were chasing and hunting dolphins, similar behavior to last September. (Photo courtesy of Mark Girardeau/Newport Coastal Adventure)

A rare orca sighting thrilled whale watching charters on Monday, July 29, off San Clemente. It was the first orca sighting off local waters this year of the tropical ETP killer whales, which were chasing and hunting dolphins, similar behavior to last September. (Photo courtesy of Mark Girardeau/Newport Coastal Adventure)

A rare orca sighting thrilled whale watching charters on Monday, July 29, off San Clemente. It was the first orca sighting off local waters this year of the tropical ETP killer whales, which were chasing and hunting dolphins, similar behavior to last September. A small dolphin tries to escape the orca’s hunt. (Photo courtesy of Ryan Lawler/Newport Coastal Adventure)

A rare orca sighting thrilled whale watching charters on Monday, July 29, off San Clemente. It was the first orca sighting off local waters this year of the tropical ETP killer whales, which were chasing and hunting dolphins, similar behavior to last September. (Photo courtesy of Mark Girardeau/Newport Coastal Adventure)

A rare orca sighting thrilled whale watching charters on Monday, July 29, off San Clemente. It was the first orca sighting off local waters this year of the tropical ETP killer whales, which were chasing and hunting dolphins, similar behavior to last September. A small dolphin tries to escape the orca’s hunt. (Photo courtesy of Ryan Lawler/Newport Coastal Adventure)

A rare orca sighting thrilled whale watching charters on Monday, July 29, off San Clemente. It was the first orca sighting off local waters this year of the tropical ETP killer whales, which were chasing and hunting dolphins, similar behavior to last September. (Photo courtesy of Matt Larmand/Dana Wharf)

A rare orca sighting thrilled whale watching charters on Monday, July 29, off San Clemente. It was the first orca sighting off local waters this year of the tropical ETP killer whales, which were chasing and hunting dolphins, similar behavior to last September. (Photo courtesy of Matt Larmand/Dana Wharf)

A rare orca sighting thrilled whale watching charters on Monday, July 29, off San Clemente. It was the first orca sighting off local waters this year of the tropical ETP killer whales, which were chasing and hunting dolphins, similar behavior to last September. (Photo courtesy of Ryan Lawler/Newport Coastal Adventure)

A rare orca sighting thrilled whale watching charters on Monday, July 29, off San Clemente. It was the first orca sighting off local waters this year of the tropical ETP killer whales, which were chasing and hunting dolphins, similar behavior to last September. (Photo courtesy of Ryan Lawler/Newport Coastal Adventure)

Whale-watching charters will continue to be on the lookout in coming days, scouring the sea for the hunters — the “wolves of the sea” — hoping the pod will stick around.

Sign up for our Coast Lines newsletter, a weekly digest of news and features on how the residents of the SoCal coast are building ties to their changing environment. Subscribe here.

It was the first orca sighting in local waters so far this year.

Initially, two orcas were spotted by Oceanside Whale Watching mid-day Monday, heading up the coast toward Orange County. Newport Coastal Adventure owner Ryan Lawler was about to leave on a fishing trip when he got word and shot down the coast, joining Dana Wharf and Oceanside whale-watching charters off Camp Pendleton.

It wasn’t long before the orcas started their hunt.

“It was surprising to me with what persistence they chased this dolphin pod,” Lawler said. “They chased it for two miles at a constant pace. Like wolves chasing down their prey, trying to tire their prey out.”

Photographer Mark Girardeau was aboard one of the boats when more orcas appeared — perhaps getting word that there was a feast to be had.

“All of a sudden, several more orcas were spotted in the distance. Then they all joined up and totaled at least ten individuals,” he recounted.

The orcas that are usually seen in local waters are known as “transients,” but these ETP tropical orcas are distinguishable by their darker saddle patches, smaller eye patches, and barnacles on their dorsal fins, Girardeau said.

Alisa Schulman-Janiger, co-founder of the California Killer Whale Project, called it “a fantastic encounter with very rarely seen whales — even more rare as they are here during summer rather than winter.”

In past years, ETPs have mostly shown up from November through January, she said.

“This is an unusual time to see them,” she said. “The water is warmer, they are tropical whales, they like the warmer water.”

Schulman-Janiger will be analyzing photos to try to identify the pod based on their distinct markings. Her early suspicion is that they are not the same pod that came to town last year.

“It doesn’t mean we haven’t seen these groups before, but I don’t believe it’s the same,” she said, noting there’s a few hundred known ETP orcas.

Photographer Matt Larmand jumped on a Dana Wharf Whale Watching boat, Monday, and got to witness something he said he’ll never forget from the “insanely smart creatures.”

He said the orcas disappeared from sight, then suddenly a pod of 20 to 30 dolphins started stampeding in the distance. The orcas came from all different directions, separating an adult dolphin from its calf.

“They went after that baby. I guess that was an easier target,” Larmand said. “They’d come from different directions, they were corralling it and getting it to go in the direction they wanted it to go. They knew exactly what they were doing and how to do it. It was crazy to watch.”

Lawler said he observed something he’s never noticed in previous hunts — a mother dolphin trying to save its calf both times orcas went after babies.

“The first time, even after the baby dolphin had been killed and reduced to a piece of meat, sadly, the mom was there, circling the killer whales like ‘What did you do to my baby’?” he said. “I would have thought this mom dolphin would be like, ‘I’m getting out of here.’ I have a drone video of this killer whale with this baby in its mouth, with the mom dolphin circling the orcas.”

But with common dolphins about six feet long, versus the 20-foot orcas, they are no match for the apex predator.

“There’s no way the dolphin could protect the baby, but it was trying,” he said. “I was really impressed with a common dolphin’s motherly instincts. It reminded of when orcas are trying to eat gray whales, the moms don’t give up.”

Lawler, a lifelong fisherman, said it’s simply the circle of life.

“My emotions at that moment are not sad. … I’m out there watching nature all day long. The anchovies are getting eaten every day. You have to objectively look at it like the balance of the ocean,” he said. “I was not sad, I was excited. I don’t get sad, because it’s so amazing to me what we got to see out there. We’re seeing more and more instances of things that are absolutely incredible happening off the Orange County coast. The only emotion I ever feel is amazement.”

According to Captain Dave’s Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari, the small pod was also “mugging,” or coming up for a close look with their heads out of the water, at boats.

“Whale ‘muggings’ occur when the animal takes a special interest in a boat and behaves in a friendly and curious manner,” according to a Capt. Dave’s statement about the encounter.

Little is known about ETP orcas “although it’s clear marine mammals make up at least part of their diet,” the statement reads. Orcas, commonly known as killer whales, are actually dolphins not whales. They are the largest member of the dolphin family.

Last time the tropical orcas came to town, they bounced from San Diego, to San Clemente, toward Dana Point and up to Laguna Beach for about a week and a half chasing dolphins. Orca enthusiasts hope Monday’s sighting signals the same.

Laylan Connelly started as a journalist in 2002 after earning a degree in journalism from the University of Southern California. Through the years, she has covered several cities for The Orange County Register, starting as a beat reporter in Irvine before focusing on coastal cities such as Newport Beach, Dana Point and Laguna Beach. In 2007, she was selected for a prestigious Knight New Media fellowship focusing on digital media at UC Berkeley, where she learned skills to adapt to the ever-changing online landscape. Using a web-based approach, she turned her love for the ocean into a full-time gig as the paper’s beaches reporter. The unique beat allows her to delve into coastal culture by covering everything from the countless events dotting the 42 miles of coastline, to the business climate of the surf industry, to the fascinating wildlife that shows up on the shores. Most importantly, she takes pride in telling stories of the people who make the beaches so special, whether they are surfers using the ocean to heal, or the founders of major surf brands who helped spawn an entire culture, or people who tirelessly fight to keep the coast pristine and open for all to enjoy. She’s a world traveler who loves to explore the slopes during winter months or exotic surf spots around the globe. When she’s not working, or maybe while she's researching a story, you can find her longboarding at her favorite surf spots at San Onofre or Doheny.

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.